Black Despondency
by blackSMILES
Summary: [AU] A water nymph of mysterious birth, a curious vampire, a captured angel, a sadistic crown prince. In a world where angels and vampires are enemies, Sakura finds herself stuck in between their conflict. SASUSAKU ITAHINA[no romance]
1. Prologue

**Black Despondency**

_Here's another AU fic for all of you. I haven't been updating The Pretty Substitute for quite a while. SORRY!!! I just had to write this._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

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Prologue

Blood. The crimson and warm fluid flowed down the man's neck slowly, like his life draining out by each second. That was what Sakura remembered most about that man. That innocent man did not deserve such a thing.

Sakura remembered her mother wiping away the man's blood from his neck while trying to stop his wound from bleeding. She could see the two punctured wounds on his bloodied neck, holes to his carotid artery, filling up with blood every time her mother wiped the blood away.

She stood behind a slightly opened wooden door as she peeped at her mother begin the healing process. She noticed her mother focusing a warm green light onto the man's neck, calling to him, telling him to stay awake.

He did not listen to her. Sakura watched his eyes turn glassy and closed slowly. She watched her mother cry for another loss of life. Sakura gripped the wooden door with her hands as her emerald eyes widened with horror at the amount of blood on her mother's hands when she turned back to face her.

Later that year, Sakura's mother told her about vampires. Demons under human's disguise which drank and relished in human's blood, her mother said. The man died because a vampire drew too much of his blood and the wound was too deep. They would not harm her mother and her, because they were nymphs. They were nymphs with healing powers. They were not humans.

Sakura thought vampires were ruthless.

Sakura's mother was a Naiad, a kind of water nymph. Both of them lived outside the hustle and bustle of Konoha, a shinobi kingdom. Sakura's mother did not want Sakura to see the outside world, for she always warned Sakura about the dangers and the hypocrisy of the real world outside. They lived beside a stream in a forest, healing everyone who came to seek them- spirits, demons, humans and half-animals alike.

Sakura had no father. Yuna never told her anything about him. She did not even mention him. Sakura tried asking once, but she was met with such a cold glare from her usually warm mother that she gave up asking.

She spent her time in the forest learning how to heal and growing herbs.

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Ten years later… 

Celebration. Sakura could hear the merry sounds of trumpets, drums and flutes while she was picking herbs from the tiny patch of land her mother used for growing crops. She was excited. It was not often one could hear such sounds in the forest. It was always quiet and boring in the forest. Looking towards the source of the sounds, Sakura could see flashes of brilliant reds, purples and blues passing by. Trees in the forest blocked her vision. Annoyed because she was missing out on such a rare show, Sakura walked towards the sounds hastily. Sakura could hear human whisperings as she approached.

A lavish procession greeted Sakura's eyes. Soldiers in red, blue and purple uniforms marched on the forest ground as they played all sorts of musical instruments. Sakura glanced around to see many of the village peasants bowing down to a particularly palatial horse carriage. Not wanting to look out of place, Sakura quickly smoothed her slightly soiled muslin dress and kneeled down.

Soon, everyone got up with the softening of the music and went back to Konoha. Sakura got up and looked at the town. It looked the same, with all the concrete buildings and a large castle right in the center of it.

Sighing softly when she realized her life was back to being boring once again, Sakura trudged back to the small plot of land.

Sakura had grown up to become a pretty eighteen-year-old young woman. Her green eyes sparkled and her pink hair shone whenever the sunshine landed on her. Yuna was proud of her daughter and would always show her off to the patients. They would smile benignly while Sakura blushed at her mother's antics.

Looking at her almost full bamboo woven basket, Sakura carried it inside the house. Her mother was preparing a dinner.

"Mother, I am taking a bath in the stream," Sakura said as she set the basket onto a wooden round table.

"Ok!" Yuna chirped cheerfully. Sakura smiled faintly at her mother's optimism.

Sakura walked out of the house made of timber and sat down beside the stream. She untied the long pink hair that was held by a twine and took off the clothes, folding them neatly and putting them beside the stream. Slowly, she went into the cool pristine water, enjoying the cleanliness it brought to her body as it flowed past her.

Sakura was a Naiad like her mother. Both of them loved the fresh water.

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"You shouldn't do this, Sasuke-sama!" Lee yelled when the second heir of the village (in other words, a prince) tried to jump out of the carriage to run away.

The young man took no heed to his personal servant's words. "Get lost, Lee," Sasuke said in a cold voice that stilled Lee.

"No," Lee said stubbornly as he blocked the carriage doors, staring straight into Sasuke's onyx eyes.

Sasuke sighed and sat down. He hated sitting down in a carriage, going back home like a lady. He wanted to ride a horse. Gritting his teeth, he realized that there was only one person who would arrange a carriage for him.

Uchiha Itachi, his 'beloved' brother. Itachi always wanted to humiliate him for some weird reason he did not know. Actually, they disliked each other.

Unable to sit down like a lapdog like what his brother wanted him to be, Sasuke stood up again and hit Lee in his head when he was caught off guard. Sasuke smirked triumphantly as he thought about Itachi's foiled attempt to humiliate him. He glanced sourly at his personal servant. Lee was loyal to him, and he felt guilty for hitting him like this.

It did not bug him for long as Sasuke jumped out of the carriage at top speed and avoided being seen by soldiers. He smirked. "Being a shinobi has its quirks," he thought to himself as he sped into the forest, in front of the procession to reach the village first.

He was already traveling quite a long distance before he realized he did not bring any water or fluid with him. Cursing himself and his parched throat, Sasuke landed on the first stream he spotted while leaping on the huge tree branches.

A movement from somewhere in the stream made Sasuke paused in his tracks when he wanted to venture out of the dark forest to the stream. Someone was around. Not grass, trees, animals, or demons…

Someone like a human… Sasuke licked his full lips as he thought about. Blood was way better than water at any time of the day.

He hid behind a thick lush bush to spy his surroundings. Firstly, he spotted a wooden house at the side of the stream and the movement was from a young woman who was about the same age as him in the water, splashing water to amuse herself.

Sasuke smirked at the folded clothes at the side of the stream.

"Prey spotted," he thought to himself and slowly got out from the bushes, careful not to make any noise as he approached the young woman quietly, like a predator stalking a prey.

Sasuke bared his sharp fangs, glinting under the dark canopy of the forest, eager to sink them into the pink-haired, beautiful stranger in front of him. She should be honored he would be drinking her oh-so-tasty blood.

As if the pink-haired girl had the sixth sense, she turned around abruptly just when Sasuke was right behind her, ready to grab her by her shoulders and bite her neck. Sasuke stared into her emerald orbs as she stared at his fangs and his greedy eyes that were taking in all of her naked body.

A tensed silence hung in the air as Sakura took in the fact that there was a vampire right in front of her. He was ready to bite her. The maniacal gleam in his eyes scared her.

_Blood. The crimson and warm fluid flowed down the man's neck slowly, like his life draining out by each second._

_She could see the two punctured wounds on his bloodied neck, holes to his carotid artery, filling up with blood every time her mother wiped the blood away._

Letting out a small shrill scream, Sakura dived into the stream and swam away from the vampire as quickly as she could. He was persistent. Diving into the water with Sakura, the raven-haired vampire caught her ankle. Sakura twisted her ankle but she could not escape from his vice-like grip. He smirked underwater and mouthed, "Gotcha."

Sasuke smiled inwardly as the woman in front of him started to struggle to break free. He could feel her fear as she writhed and twisted to get away from him. He loved seeing his preys' fears before he take their blood. It was what one would call 'vampiral' instincts. He liked those struggling ones, posing as challenges for his otherwise boring feeding activity. He particularly liked the challenge in front of him.

He liked the way her body moved. The soft curves twisted, as she wanted to break free. Soon she would need air and break the surface… Soon she would be tired and give up… Soon…

Suddenly, he felt himself grabbing onto nothing except water. That woman had disappeared in the water. There was no trace of her anywhere. The sudden stillness in the water did not hold telltale signs of a furious struggle underwater seconds ago.

Realization dawned upon Sasuke. That woman was no human. She was a water nymph. She turned herself into water to escape him. Clenching his fists as he swam to the surface and cursed his own bad judgment. He wasted his time on someone who could not provide him with any blood.

Leaping onto the nearest branch, Sasuke sped off into the darkness of the forest, leaving an invisible and scared Sakura hiding in the water.

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A/N: I hope this sounds good to all of you readers. Please leave a review. :) 


	2. Chapter 1: Bloodied Water

**Black Despondency**

**by blackSMILES**

_I am so sorry for not updating this for more than a month. Now that my mid-year examinations are over, I can finally get down to type Chapter ONE out:) Yay for me!_

_Rushed as usual. Forgive me for any mistakes!_

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_Realization dawned upon Sasuke. That woman was no human. She was a water nymph. She turned herself into water to escape him. Clenching his fists as he swam to the surface and cursed his own bad judgment. He wasted his time on someone who could not provide him with any blood._

_Leaping onto the nearest branch, Sasuke sped off into the darkness of the forest, leaving an invisible and scared Sakura hiding in the water._

_End of recap _

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Sakura stayed in the cool water for several minutes, her keen senses alert as she tried to detect any movement from that vampire who could be hiding in the forest. That was her first time encountering a real vampire. All she knew about vampires before that was that they were bloodsucking and ruthless bloodsucking creatures.

She twisted her head to the sky. The sun had set and darkness started to set in, washing the forest off its usual green. Sakura also knew that vampires were active at night. It was no wonder that vampire attacked her at this time, when the sun was no longer visible.

A wisp of red liquid in the water caught Sakura's attention. Blood. It dissolved and mingled with the water after appearing shortly.

She was bleeding.

After making sure her surroundings were free of malicious vampires, Sakura rose up from the water, materializing into her human form as water flowed down her body. There was blood on her forearm, slowly oozing out a scratch wound about two inches long on her forearm.

"The wound must have been inflicted when that vampire held me," Sakura stared at the wound for a long time, watching her life essence dripping onto the ground.

She licked her wound and cringed when she tasted the coppery tang of her red blood. How could someone actually like drinking blood? To Sakura, blood was anything but edible.

Putting her other hand over the wound, Sakura used the healing techniques her mother taught her to heal the wound. Pressing green light emitted from her hand onto the wound, Sakura could feel comfortable warmth on her injured skin, sealing the wound.

Sakura always wondered why her life essence was red. It was not like human blood. Her life essence was like a clear crimson solution, like what one would get from mixing blood and water together. Yuna's life essence was crystal clear and colourless, very much like other water nymphs.

She had always pestered Yuna about why she was so different from other water nymphs. Yuna would steer away from the question and avoided it completely.

"Am I really a water nymph?" Sakura sighed as she bent down to wash off the blood on her skin left after the wound healed.

"Sakura-chan! Dinner's ready!" Yuna's voice chirped suddenly.

Sakura stood up and walked towards her home. "Should I tell Mother about the vampire?" Sakura pondered as she walked into the wooden hut.

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Sasuke sprinted through the thick canopy of the forest when he left the river. He was hungry for blood and annoyed because he had to waste time catching some prey that he cannot even devour. 

Branch. Step. Branch. Step. Stomach growling.

He needed food fast. Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he heard a soft humming coming from the ground below, coming nearer.

"Lucky," Sasuke smirked and dived down onto the forest ground, landing perfectly in front of a young woman.

The girl was wearing a plain peasant dress that was a little torn at the hems. Her bosoms pushed slightly at the front of her dress and her dress flared at her hips. She smelled nice, like food. Not as pretty as the pseudo-prey he had, but she would do.

The girl was startled when Sasuke appeared in front of her. Her shocked expression turned into a blush when she saw Sasuke's handsome face, smirking at her.

"What's your name, young lady?" Sasuke asked suavely, looking at his prey intently as she stuttered to give him an answer. His gaze landed on the two neat pigtails at the side of her neck, the brown strands of hair grazing her neck softly. Beneath the smooth skin she had was warm tasty blood for a hungry vampire.

Sasuke licked his lips impatiently as he watched the peasant girl said her name in a crystal clear voice that barely registered in his head.

"My name is Hinako," the girl repeatedly shyly.

"Oh, Hinako-chan," Sasuke said absently, relishing the fact that he was able to enthrall the girl with just his appearance. He knew that he was a beautiful creature, like many other vampires. They were born with perfect faces and toned bodies. Under the perfect façade, a black heart thrived in each vampire, feeding on blood from the humans.

Hinako blushed.

It seemed like the peasant girl knew nothing about vampires and their beautiful exterior. She might hear warnings from her elders before, but she might be too entranced by the beautiful man in front of her to even think.

Sasuke did not care.

He stepped forward. Hinako's glance on him was wavering and landing anywhere but on him.

"Look at me," Sasuke spoke gently.

She looked at him with her large hazel eyes.

That was the biggest mistake of her lifetime.

The onyx eyes that attracted her so much turned to a seductive shade of red, with three commas gracing the irises of his eyes. The commas started spinning. Hinako found herself unable to look away.

Hinako fell onto the ground, barely conscious.

Sasuke bent down and picked the girl up, holding her neck to his mouth. Slowly, he licked the smooth skin. Hinako moaned softly as she felt his wet tongue circled the skin on her neck, following the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat. The warmth and wetness on her neck was so enticing…

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

All she heard was her heartbeat and Sasuke's heavy breathing. Everything else was forgotten. Sasuke bared his sharp fangs and pierced them into her creamy neck. Blood spurted out instantly from the wound and Hinako gasped sharply as pain overtook her.

There was nothing to think about anymore, except the acute pain and the warm pleasurable breath on her neck. She did not know what to feel- pleasure or pain.

Hinako grimaced as she heard Sasuke slurped her blood like a hungry wolf. Her half-lidded eyelids began to close slowly, obscuring her into a world of darkness. Before she was unconscious, she forced out a strangled whisper to the mysterious man who no longer had his attention on her neck.

"Who are you?" She asked.

She realized that she did not even know his name.

Sasuke stopped sucking blood from the peasant girl when the bleating of trumpets echoed through the forest. The sounds came from the forest and it implied that the palace doors were closing soon and he should return soon.

He stood up and cursed when he saw that the white shirt he was wearing splattered with blood. Blood dribbled from his chin onto his shirt. Annoyed, Sasuke used a bloodied hand to wipe the remaining blood away.

He could smell the sweet blood from Hinako from his hand. He could taste that she was a pure and innocent girl. It was a pity he could not enjoy her anymore.

Still wiping his face with his hand, Sasuke stopped abruptly when he smelled blood from another being. It was not only Hinako's blood he smelled. There was a faint scent of blood belonging to someone else. The blood smelled sweet too, but somehow different from a mere human being.

"Whose blood could it be?" Sasuke tried to remember what he had done today.

Sasuke's memories flooded his mind and stopped at the little scuffle he had with the water nymph.

He remembered scratching the water nymph when she was trying to get away from him. He hurriedly smelled his nails for traces of blood different from Hinako.

Bingo. The blood must have been from the water nymph.

Sasuke frowned. "But why would red blood flow in a water nymph?"

He was about to turn back to the river where he saw the water nymph when the bleating of trumpets resounded in the forest again.

"Damn!" Sasuke cursed as he took off in the direction to the palace, not even turning to glance at Hinako once.

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Sakura decided to tell her mother about the vampire. It was after dinner when she finally decided to do so. 

"Mother," Sakura began, standing behind her mother who was washing dishes by the river.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Yuna asked cheerfully as she placed a clean dish onto the ground.

"I saw a vampire today," Sakura stated simply.

Yuna suddenly stopped. Sakura could feel her mother tensing up slightly. She asked in the same cheerful voice, "But he didn't attack you right?"

"He did, and he scratched me on my arm. But that's all," Sakura said, feeling bewildered at how calm her voice was.

Yuna stood up from washing the dishes hurriedly and grabbed Sakura's arm to see the wound.

"I healed it, Mother," Sakura said as she stared at her mother's worried expression.

"Sakura. Please, don't come out of the house without me with you. Stay by me from now on," Yuna pleaded, a flustered look etched on her face.

Sakura realized that her mother looked older when she was less cheerful. She knew that even when she asked Yuna why, Yuna would not answer her.

Resignedly, Sakura kept her mouth close and walked back to the hut with Yuna.

A series of shouts and screams alerted both of them suddenly.

"Yuna-sama! Yuna-sama!" An elderly man called as he ran towards Yuna and Sakura. Both of them stopped and turned. Behind the elderly man was a young man carrying a woman around his age, bleeding profusely.

"Hinako-chan… Hinako-chan is attacked by a vampire!" The elderly man blabbered as he panted.

Sakura's emerald eyes widened significantly. Could it be the work of the same vampire who attacked her?

Sakura watched the young man carry Hinako into the hut and followed. He laid Hinako down onto the wooden bed they had.

She could see clearly, the two punctured wounds on her neck. Thick crimson blood was oozing out from the wound.

"Please! Save my granddaughter! She's my only family!" The elderly man kneeled and begged Yuna.

"I will. Do not worry." Yuna said seriously as she began to heal the punctured wounds on Hinako's neck.

Sakura stood frozen by the bedside, as she saw Hinako's life ebbing away slowly. She was scared, and guilty.

This girl would not have been bitten at all if Sakura was a human. Sakura would be food for the ruthless monster, instead of Hinako.

Sakura could imagine how it would be like for her. A monster baring its fangs, sinking it into her neck and sucking her blood out as her heartbeat grew weaker and weaker…

"Sakura! I need a clean towel!" Yuna said.

"Sakura!" Yuna repeated hurriedly when the clean towel did not arrive in her hands within seconds.

"Yes!" Sakura grabbed a towel and handed it to her mother. She wiped the beads of perspiration forming on her mother's forehead with another towel. Her hands were shaking.

Within minutes, Yuna finally stopped the healing and said to the elderly man, "Hinako will be safe. It was lucky that the vampire did not take too much of her blood."

Everyone let out a breath that they were keeping unconsciously.

The elderly man and the young man rushed to look at Hinako who was still lying on her bloodstained clothes.

Yuna said Sakura in a voice both of them could not hear. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I knew you were afraid of vampires. But I…"

Sakura cut off Yuna and said, "It's okay, Mother. I don't want to fear them anymore. I want to hate them."

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I hope this chapter is exciting for you guys. Hinako is just an extra. She won't be coming back anymore, I guess. X.X 

Teehee. Review please, sweeties:)


	3. Chapter 2: Fallen Angel

**Black Despondency**

**by blackSMILES**

My end–of-year examinations are over:)

Sorry for updating for 3 months. That's a loooong time. Hee. I got only 9 reviews for the last chapter… How sad. BUT, I love this story too much to be discouraged! Vampires are so cool!!!

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Recap from Chapter 1 

_The elderly man and the young man rushed to look at Hinako who was still lying on her bloodstained clothes._

_Yuna said Sakura in a voice both of them could not hear. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I knew you were afraid of vampires. But I…"_

_Sakura cut off Yuna and said, "It's okay, Mother. I don't want to fear them anymore. I want to hate them."_

_End of recap_

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Chapter 2: Fallen Angel 

_Angels were once rulers of the kingdom, worshipped by all… until the appearance of vampires from a faraway land robbed everything that belonged to the angels away. The angels had sweet blood that vampires loved most, so in a single night, they turned from proud beings into prey for the ruthless predators. To save themselves, they exchanged their kingdom with a condition that no vampire is to ever attack any angel again. Thus, hell began._

The chilly resonance of boots scraping the rough gritty ground drew closer. The girl whimpered and cowered deeper into the corner of her cold wet cell- if only she could just disappear...Tousled midnight blue hair covered her dirt-covered face like a moldy and holey curtain- as if she was hiding from her captors by trying to blend into the walls of the dungeon.

The knob of a door turned and the door was opened abruptly, sending a sharp squeak of un-oiled hinges into the girl's ears. She gasped and jumped a little, turning her head to the source of sound. Light barely streamed into her blindfolded eyes. She was more scared than relieved by its presence.

"Who...who is it?" She asked uncertainly, her voice quivering like a scared prey to be devoured.

The intruder did not deign to answer. He smirked at her trembling form, hidden in the damp sticky corner of the unlit cell. If she had known that her supposed sanctuary was warm and dank from the spilt blood of the previous prisoner...

"Please let me go," the girl pleaded softly when she did not hear a reply. Perhaps a merciful prison guard brought her food?

A light snicker erupted from her visitor, doing nothing to calm her heightened nerves.

"Let you go, Angel?" A deep voice drawled, causing the girl to stiffen.

"What are you talking about?" The girl spoke more calmly and feigned ignorance.

She could hear the man walking closer to her, until she could feel his warm breath fanning onto her face through her curtain of blue hair when he bent down to her sitting position.

The disgusting stench of a vile creature drove the contents of her breakfast to her stomach. She flinched away from the creature abruptly and screamed the word she also hated and feared, "Vampire!" She cringed with distaste.

The man glared at the blindfolded girl, annoyed by her sudden outburst even though he knew her kind could smell death emanating from under his skin more easily than anything else. She did not even smell the drying blood on her, yet she smelled him. He seized the girl roughly by her arm and pulled her to him, keeping her still as he spoke to her, as if coaxing a child.

"Little Angel, do you know that an angel's skin glows faintly in the dark? You look so beautiful, that I want to touch you…" He said, too innocently, and buried his face into the crook of her neck.

The girl shuddered and struggled to get away from the man clutching her. "Let me go, you vampire! You monster! The law says you cannot touch me" She screamed and thrashed her limbs with all her might.

All was futile. Her hands and legs were bounded by a coarse cloth which scraped her skin.

However, the man did stop at the last thing she said. He removed his face from the girl's neck. "The law?" He sneered.

"Yes, you cannot touch me as long as you filthy pure-blooded vampires are ruling," the angel said breathlessly, her breath uneven from the struggling. Her limbs hurt from the bounds.

"You mean that one hundred year old law? The law that was made in exchange for this country? The law that you pathetic angels suggested to keep yourselves alive during the old world war?" The man said mockingly.

The angel sat on the floor, quiet, refusing to say 'yes'.

The man continued, "You pathetic angels. Are you weaklings dreaming of regaining the kingdom again? How amusing. Imagine your favourite food fighting back even though it is sending itself to you on a silver platter."

The girl looked up suddenly, a scowl visible on her beautiful face. Her eyes were blazing with fury under the black blindfold. "Don't insult us!" She screamed and lunged forward to the man, trying to attack by biting on any flesh she felt with her straight pearly whites.

Her blindfold slipped down her face as both of them rolled onto the floor, with the man pining her to the ground. The girl's moon white eyes finally looked into the face of the vampire with her. He was like an untamed monster, with crimson eyes like a devil and long fangs glinting in the dark. She noticed the ends of his fangs were sharp.

She recognized him. "Uchiha Itachi…" She murmured softly, her eyes swimming with fear, flinching whenever inky strands of his hair brushed the sides of her face.

Like a prey, Itachi thought and smirked when he felt her shivering under him. "When you want to attack someone with your teeth, you should do this." After he finished speaking, he swooped down suddenly and sank his fangs into the unsuspecting angel's neck, drawing blood as his teeth pierced her smooth skin.

The angel screamed from the pain and began to struggle again. Itachi did not let go. He held the girl's arms tighter, bruising her. He loved the blood surging from her veins into his mouth. It was heavenly, better than how ambrosia tasted to an angel.

The girl was reduced to a crying heap of blue hair and tattered linen clothing under Itachi. The slurping sounds of her blood draining away from her body scared her. Everyone told her that she would be protected by the law. She believed them, yet there is a vampire attacking her now! What should she do?

"Neji-nii-san!" The angel screamed, wishing for her most trusted guardian to save her. However, there was no one who answered her. Neji was missing. She was not even sure he was still alive. It was all her fault…

Itachi drew away from her neck. She looked at her assaulter's face and regretted it immediately. His face was a picture of satisfaction and mockery, graced with her blood, gripping down onto her face from his chin. He wiped her blood away from her face with a large cold hand, rough with calluses. He then wiped away her tears with the same hand.

She was still, stunned but yet afraid at the cruel monster's sudden gentleness. Itachi then leaned down to the girl's ear and whispered, "I kept you alive so that I can eat you again, Hyuuga Hinata-hime."

The girl did not blink. He knew who she was and he still attacked her. He was blatantly breaking the law and wanted her to lose her pride as an angel intentionally.

The girl remained lying down, a fresh stream of tears running down her cheeks again when she heard the door being locked up again with her alone in the cell. The wound on the neck hurt, even though she had stopped bleeding.

_**I want to escape. **_

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Sakura looked out at the window while lying on her bed, thinking of her encounter with the vampire she met that day and Yuna's reaction.

"Why?" Sakura mumbled as she gazed at the night stars, as if searching for an answer. She looked at the healed arm which the vampire had scratched and touched the skin lightly.

She had blood. But why? She was not supposed to be like this. Would that vampire come back and seek her out if he found out? Would he be like a relentless predator chasing after her till she is sucked dry of her blood? She shivered slightly. Was it because the night was particularly chilly or was it out of fear?

Sakura could not sleep for the whole night. Tossing and turning on her bed, she kept opening her eyes whenever they closed. The images under her dark eyelids scared her.

* * *

Sasuke remembered the scent of the water nymph's blood. It was unlike what he had smelt before, somewhat aromatic and floral. It was nothing like a human's blood. He sniffed his hand for the remnants of her blood. There was nothing since the maids had fussed over him and dragged him to the bathroom when he returned with bloodstained clothes.

And there was the body. The soft wrist he had grabbed onto, not so tightly that it would bruise. The slender waist that twisted and turned in a struggle to escape, the long slender legs which kicked him with such vulnerability, the perfect proportions of her hips and firm breasts… made him want her to be pinned under him, writhing in pain, and perhaps pleasure.

He wanted to know what it was, the blood that flowed in her. After he was done with his curiosity, he would drink her blood… all of it. Carefully, he picked up the fragile wineglass on the lacquered mahogany table and downed the thick crimson blood in it. _Blood was the best._

A hard knock resounded on the heavy wooden door which shut his room away from the rest of his insufferable family members, pulling him away from his thoughts about the water nymph.

"Come in," Sasuke said coldly. He did not even bother to stand up from the burgundy velvet couch he was resting on. There was no need to give any form of respect to whoever who was entering.

"Little Brother," a deep voice Sasuke detested so much echoed in the room when the door opened, giving light rays a pathway to brighten his darkened room.

"Aniue**(1)**," Sasuke acknowledged Itachi with a curt nod when he wanted nothing else but to throw the wine glass he was holding at his brother's smug face.

"I've heard from the servants that you ran away from the carriage I so painstakingly prepared for you," Itachi said regrettably, but Sasuke was not gullible enough to feel guilt.

"No one could sit still with noisy trumpets blaring into their ears every second. That floral carriage is also unfit for a prince, Aniue. It's for a princess," Sasuke argued slowly, as though he was composed and calm.

"Really? I did not prepare for a floral carriage. I remembered sending the finest steed," Itachi replied, apologetic.

"You don't have to apologise to your younger brother," Sasuke mocked.

"I am not, Sasuke. I am merely sorry for the fact that your coming back to the palace in blood-drenched clothes has reached His and Her Majesty's ears. I am afraid that they are terribly unpleased with your conduct," Itachi said smugly. Sasuke knew he was not feeling sorry at all.

Sympathetic was not a word that connected with Uchiha Itachi.

"I see. Is that all you have to say to me?" Sasuke asked, indifferent.

"I will leave soon. Rest well. You look haggard," Itachi said coolly before retreating and slamming the door behind him.

Sasuke stared at the wooden door and hurled the wine glass he was holding onto the door. The glass shattered into smithereens. The sound of breaking glass resounded in the room. Sasuke was still not appeased.

* * *

"Wake up!" A callused hand shook Hinata up roughly, rousing her from the light sleep she needed so much.

Hinata was tired mentally and physically. She fell asleep crying. Her eyes hurt from the sudden brightness in the room as her eyes opened for the first time in a few hours. She could barely see anything.

She could only feel a hand moving up her neck and sharp fangs poking into her soft skin, breaking them. A new wound was made and blood was drained from her body again. She could feel the prickling pain, intensifying any second.

Her assaulter this time was more aggressive and greedier, slurping her blood hungrily like a thirsty animal. Her pearly eyes finally got used to her surroundings. Her eyes widened when she saw her attacker.

Uchiha Itachi, again. This time, he was pissed off. She could feel it in her body, tingling in pain.

She whimpered and stayed still. Because she knew struggling more would be futile.

* * *

(1): Aniue is a formal way of saying 'elder brother' or 'nii-san'.

I hope you guys like this chapter. I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR AGES.

I Will be updating my other stories soon 3


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